04/22/08 Thinking about putting out tomatoes, peppers or eggplant starts? Make sure the soil and nighttime air temperatures are consistently warm enough. These heat-loving varieties will suffer if set out too early. Cool temperatures can stunt the growth of young seedlings, resulting in delayed maturity and lower yields. Use plastic mulch to elevate the soil temperature (it helps retain moisture, suppress weeds and accelerate fruit ripening also). Wallo’waters, Kozy Coats, cloches and floating row covers can help keep the plants warm too.

04/14/08 It’s Blueberry Season. Plant blueberry plants with a sprinkling of Acid Mix fertilizer. The fertilizer lowers the pH of the soil, just the way blueberries like it! Mulch around plants with sawdust or straw to keep moisture in and weeds down. Blueberry yields improve when plants are able to cross-pollinate with another (different) blueberry variety. Check out Territorial Seed Company’s selection to add to your blueberry crop.

04/08/08 Time for Spring Cleaning. Tidy up perennial beds: remove heavy mulch layers, leaving just enough to cover the soil surface. Emerging plants will respond to the increased exposure to sun and warmth. Side dress established perennials with high phosphorus fertilizer like bone meal.

03/31/08 Don’t let the weeds get the best of you. With the onset of longer days and warmer weather, everything starts to really grow—even the unwanted plants. Eliminating weeds when they are tiny seedlings is much easier than trying to pull them when they are well established. Take some time to stay on top of the emerging pests now, and you’ll be grateful later in the season. After cleaning up a bed, remember that Mother Nature hates bare ground. A light covering of mulch prevents reoccurrence of the pests.

03/24/08 Apples are an all-time favorite, and now even gardeners with limited space can grow their own crop. The Sentinel ™ Columnar Apples are perfectly suited for containers, and make a stately display, too. The Golden and Scarlet varieties are beautifully paired, pollinating each other and providing harvests of crispy, sweet fruit. We will be shipping the bare-root plants soon, so get yours now!

03/10/08 Potato-planting time is just around the corner. This year we have nine varieties to temp you: fingerlings, russets and boilers, red, white, blue and gold. Place your order today before supplies run out!

03/03/08 Do you have a berry patch? Order your bare-root strawberries and raspberries now, and you’ll be rewarded with the summertime treat of deliciously sweet berries. Order now, we’ll be shipping the plants very soon!

02/25/08
Plan your summer flower garden. Lots of summer-blooming flowers are easy to grow from bulbs. Dahlia, gladiola, calla and canna are a few varieties that you can plant in spring for summer color. We start shipping bulbs in early March, so order now while the selection is good!

02/18/08
Since peppers take extra time to get growing, get a jump on the season. Start the seed indoors in a sunny window or under lights. Up-pot when the seedlings have one or two sets of true leaves.

02/11/08
Start leafy green seed indoors. These plants thrive in cool temperatures, and are quick to mature. Make the most of your garden space, and plant them where your warm weather crops (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc.) will go later in the season.

02/04/08
It’s time to prune rose bushes. First, remove any weak or dead stems, then shape the plants into an open, vase-like form. Trim to knee-high, and leave a growing node facing outwards on the stem.

1/28/08
It’s here! Time for seed starting. Asparagus and artichoke seed should be started indoors at the end of January/beginning of February. Be ready to start your strawberry, rhubarb and perennial flower & herb seed anytime as well. Don't want to start asparagus, strawberries, or rhubarb from seed? We have plants, too!

1/21/08
Did you plant your garlic in the fall? If it’s sprouting and you’re worried about the cold weather damaging it, relax. Garlic has been brought to us from some of the most brutal winter areas on the globe. Yours should be fine!

1/14/08
Take a moment and check the seeds you’ve saved from past seasons. Hopefully you’ve kept them in a cool, dry location, the ideal storage environment for seeds. Discard any seed that appears to have gotten damp, sprouted or become moldy. Also, check the culture boxes in our catalog for the usual seed life of each type of seed. Spinach and onions are some of the veggies that are typically viable for only a year.

1/07/08
While you’re planning your spring garden, check your seed starting accessories. Plastic trays, inserts, and pots that you have used in the past for starting seedlings should be sanitized prior to reuse. A very mild bleach solution will do the job. Giving your seeds a sterile growing environment greatly reduces devastating fungal problems like damping off.

01/02/08 Get ready for the planting season.
Happy New Year! Now is a great time to check on your seed starting supplies and indoor lighting accessories. If you need seed starting mix, potting accessories, heat mats or bulbs for your indoor growing fixtures, now is the time to get them together. Seed starting time is just around the corner!

12/27/07 2008 Spring Catalogs are in the mail
Check your mailboxes: Territorial Seed Company’s brand new 2008 Spring Catalog is in the mail! If you aren’t on our list, click here and we’ll send you your very own copy of this breakthrough edition.

12/14/2007 Indoor Gardening ProjectIf you’re like many gardeners, this time of year can leave you feeling very cooped up and itching to garden. Here’s a great suggestion for a gardening project that’s just right for the winter: indoor mushroom kits! Watch the fascinating development of shiitake, lion’s mane, portabello, white button or pearl oyster mushrooms, and then harvest your own homegrown crop!

11/30/07 Make a garden calendar and start planning your spring garden now!
There is nothing better than relieving the winter doldrums with thoughts of a bountiful, beautiful garden to come. Our paper catalog arrives in homes at the end of December but all of our new varieties for 2008 can be viewed on our brand new website. That means you can peruse our online catalog and start choosing what to grow this spring.
When planning, it is often times helpful to create a garden calendar. This could be just a simple chart that can include whatever information you find helpful in planning and implementing the garden. Start out with a type of vegetable, flower, or herb (i.e. broccoli, zinnia, basil) and then choose particular varieties that you would like to grow (i.e. Fiesta broccoli, Aztec Sunset zinnia, or Aroma 1 basil). After that, use our paper or online catalog to fill in additional helpful information such as: When to start seeds indoors/outdoors, when to set transplants out, approximate 1st harvest date, spacing requirements, fertilizing requirements, and watering requirements. And, you don't have to stop there! Use your imagination and include whatever you find useful in planning your garden. Before you know it, spring will be here and you can be in the garden, digging in the dirt.